Many products are available for controlling insects, such as ants. Such products usually employ an inert substance combined with an insecticide. However, products with a toxicant may only be used in carefully selected areas to avoid contaminating food supplies, water supplies, domestic animals and people. As used in this specification, the word xe2x80x9ctoxicantxe2x80x9d is intended to mean a poisonous additive.
The conventional programs for managing these pests attempt to reduce their population to tolerable levels. Such elimination methods include baiting, mound drenching and broadcasting of contact insecticide having a toxic component.
I have found that using a food energy inhibitor consisting of a cellulose spent grain, mixed with an attractant, without the addition of a pesticide or poison is effective, but safe to humans, for managing selective rodents such as rats and mice. Such a product and method is disclosed in my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 09/197,548. The product is notable because it is harmless to other animals, pets, children and adults, regardless of how it is applied to rodent infested areas.
The preferred embodiment of the invention is a cellulose product used for controlling insects, such as ants, without using a toxic component. It includes an active ingredient and an attractant/binder. The ants receive no nourishment from the cellulose and die from lack of energy as the product absorbs the body juices. The insects become disoriented and die. In some cases, the ants transport the product into the nest where it is believed the reproductive ants consume the product and die.
The formula of the preferred product is:
Definition: The major component of the food energy inhibitor; chief constituent of cellulose particles of plants, wood, hemp, paper, etc., a carbohydrate.
Molasses is used as an attractant/binder because, after reviewing the literature, many attractants also provide binding capability. For example, cane molasses is used extensively in the baking industry as a shortening agent. It improves the flavor, provides cohesion and improves the xe2x80x9ctexturexe2x80x9d of the foodstuff.
Definition: an agent used to improve the consistency, cohesiveness, and texture of the preferred food energy inhibitor, a substance to improve the palatability of the food energy inhibitor to insects.
Oils are used extensively as shortening; in salad oils, livestock feed, soaps, paints and lubricants. Glutens are proteins derived from grains; used in the preparation of foods, especially cereals; used in cattle feed and in making adhesives.
Definition: A substance used to attract insects such as ants to the bait. The purpose of the attractant is to overcome xe2x80x9cbait shynessxe2x80x9d and encourage the consumption of the food energy inhibitor.
Cane molasses is used extensively in baked goods and candies and is a major raw material for livestock feed and as a binder. Cane syrup and corn syrup are used extensively in baked goods, candies act as binders.
The mechanism of action for the food energy inhibitor is to encourage the ant to consume the product (the purpose of the attractant). Grains are the seed-like fruit of certain species of the grass family such as rice, wheat, corn, oats, barley, and rye. The plants that produce these fruits are also called grains.
Using corn as an example, the corn plant is actually a grass and the kernels themselves are grains. The fiber in corn is soluble; yet, oats and barley, which are in the same species as corn, contain fiber that is insoluble. The fiber in corn passes through the GI tract unchanged where the fiber in oats and bran are affected. The solubility of the grain used in the food energy inhibitor can effect efficacy.
Many factors affect the efficacy of products used to control insects. For instance, ants do not possess the morphological or physiological mechanism to regurgitate food as do dogs, cats and other animals. This is one reason why ants are so susceptible to poisons.
However, if the ants continue to consume a non-nutritional substance (cellulose), in their crop, their energy level puts them in a xe2x80x9ccomaxe2x80x9d, without using a primary or secondary active toxic.
The preferred embodiment of the invention comprises pellets formed of crushed spent grain such as corncobs, and an insect attractant such as a sugar sweetener or a protein.
Another object of the invention is to provide a toxicant-free product for controlling insects, such as ants, in the form of pulverized or ground-up spent grain such as corncobs that are dried and sprinkled in the area where the ants are present.
Some advantages of the invention are that the product can be safely used indoors, outdoors, in the home, around food and in the fields.
In one form of the invention, the material will not dissolve in water. The product can be dispensed by hand without fear of toxic chemical exposure. It is believed to be completely non-toxic to animals other than rodents such as rats and mice. The product will not contaminate a drinking water supply, will not harm fish, birds or wild life, will not cause any harmful effects if swallowed or absorbed through the skin, will not harm children or pets, and can be safely eaten by domestic animals and livestock.
In the preferred form of the invention, the product is applied in the form of small pellets, such as U.S. 40 mesh, using a shaker. Tests indicate that the product is selective because it is not harmful to animals, other than rats and mice, and insects such as ants.
The grain is milled to separate the floury endosperm from the bran and germ. The milled grain is then rolled to extract the oil from the germ. The remaining product is a non-nutritional by-product known in the industry as xe2x80x9cspent grain.xe2x80x9d
The spent grain is then passed through a drying process and aerated to achieve a moisture content ranging from 7%-9%. Another rolling and aeration process using double rollers removes any remaining colloidal minerals to produce all natural cellulose.
The cellulose in a workable size particle is then mixed with the attractant and binding substance and pelletized to xc2xc to xe2x85x9c inch in length.
The product is dried to a moisture level of preferably 7%-9%, which causes the product to absorb the moisture from the insect.
The attractant is selected according to what is readily available and what the ants are accustomed to eating. It may range from molasses, beer, blood, shrimp, nuts, fish, beets, dry or liquid.
The pellets may be used in both urban and rural settings, around buildings, including homes, in agricultural settings, such as barns, grain bins, and animal quarters.